Nothing has changed in recent versions as to how the database updates. if it will not update it is your server or MaxMind. Recently MaxMind servers have been slow and is probably the cause.
If the geolite database errors trying to download, the server's PHP
settings could be the cause. Possible reasons: PHP safe_mode could be
enabled, you should turn it off. allow_url_fopen could be disabled, you
should turn it on.
If you can, edit your PHP.ini file (usually located in /etc/php.ini or
the root folder of your web site) and make sure these two settings are
like this: safe_mode = Off, allow_url_fopen = On
The geolite database is really just a 30 meg file. As a workaround,
you can manually download the GeoLiteCity.dat.gz file from this URL,
http://geolite.maxmind.com/download/geoip/database/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz
unzip it and upload GeoLiteCity.dat to the /plugins/visitor-maps/
folder. The GeoLiteCity.dat file is the database for the location from
IP feature. If the file is missing, the blog should function fine.
When the file is not installed, the location information for a user is
skipped.